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Contents

Introduction

Bug reports are part of normal software development. Despite extensive testing, some gremlins inevitably slip in when developing complex software applications. If you experience a bug with one of our products and services, reporting a bug is the quickest way to get it resolved.

What is a bug?

A bug* is an error or flaw in software feature that causes a program to malfunction. The malfunction may cause the software to stop working altogether or make it behave in an unintended way.

* The first bug was recorded on the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator at Harvard in 1945: an error was traced to a moth trapped in an electrical relay.

Is it actually a bug?

Just because a program or website is not working, this doesn't necessarily mean there is a bug. For example, if we host your website and it is not working, we may be performing routine maintenance or experiencing technical difficulties. We regularly undertake maintenance on all of our systems, with such work announced in advance on our blog and Twitter.

For up-to-date information about our network and services, please check our live status:

If you are using one of our products hosted by another provider, please check their status.

What to include in a bug report

When writing a bug report, it is important to include relevant information. The more informative a bug report is, the quicker we can trace the problem and resolve it. Good guidelines for bug reports are:

Be precise: include facts and avoid speculation.

Be clear: explain how to reproduce the problem, step by step, so we can reproduce the bug.

For clarity, only include one problem per report.

If you get an error message with an error number, do include it. If it is a substantial error, or you find it simpler, include a screenshot with the bug report.

What not to include in a bug report

Bug reports that are simple one line sentences like "Product XYZ doesn't work" or "It doesn't work!" are often counter-productive if not next to useless. Some of our products, like TaxiOffice and Camino, have over 100,000 lines of code across multiple modules and components. Locating a bug in codebase this size can take considerable time. The more informative a bug report, the quicker it will be traced and resolved.

Reports that contain abuse or malicious content are unacceptable and may be ignored.

Answers to Common Questions

A: This depends on the severity of the reported problem. If it is a serious issue, then we will attempt to address it as quickly as possible. Minor bugs that do not overly impact on functionality or data integrity are normally addressed in the next software version.